Judge Walden, chief
judge of the Bermondsey Crown Court, is basically satisfied with his
life. He and his wife, the Reverend Mrs. Walden live in Bermondsey
not far from her church of St. Althelbrugh and All Angels in
Southwark. The three judges who staff the Crown Court and mostly
compatible although Judge Walden occasionally has to settle spats,
and his cases are satisfying since he knows the
neighborhood well. The only unsettling aspect of his job is dealing
with the Gray Smoothies, the bureaucrats trying save money for the
public by squeezing the court ever harder.
The book consists of
five cases. Each case is a complete short story in which we see not
only the working of the court system, but also behind the scenes to
the relationships between the judges and others working at the court
as well as the politics engendered by the machinations of the Gray
Smoothies.
I enjoyed each of
the cases. The characters, particularly the defendants, are cleverly
drawn. Even some of the jurors are amusing. The plot of each case may
seem straightforward, but each ends with a twist. There is no
violence or hot sex, but the stories draw you in. The writing has
humorous passages as well as more serious takes on the legal
profession. I thoroughly enjoyed the book and recommend it to anyone
who enjoys stories about the legal profession and the court system.
I received this book
from Net Galley for this review.
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